Government response to suicide miss-placed

Income Equality Aotearoa New Zealand Inc. - Closing the Gap

MEDIA RELEASE: Government response to suicide miss-placed

23rd May 21017

The current debate about high levels of suicide in New Zealand misses the point says Peter Malcolm, National Secretary of Income Inequality Aotearoa New Zealand Inc—Closing the Gap.

“There are clear links between inequality, poverty and general deprivation to suicide and the connection is obviously stress” he says.

Wilkinson and Pickett in The Spirit Level show the association between suicide and inequality and there is a clear connection between mental distress and social disadvantage, with children from resource-poor backgrounds 2 to 3 times more likely to experience mental unwellness. Further, self harm and suicide are more likely in children who experience poverty.

Recent data from the Youth 2000 study for example, analysed by Simon Denny and colleagues, found that young people who grew up in poor families living in wealthier neighbourhoods had poorer mental health than those poor children who grew up in poor neighbourhoods. Feeling poor, and be constantly exposed to the negative views that many people in New Zealand hold about low income families, is hardly an environment that would help a young person develop a sense of self confidence

There are currently between 5,000-14,000 children (those up to 14 years old) and a staggering 43,000 – 64,000 young adults experience depression in New Zealand each year (this is formally diagnosed).

It is clear that our mental health system is overwhelmed. Children’s mental wellbeing is about income, wealth and deprivation. Targeting children who are already mentally unwell is insufficient.

Quentin Abraham, president of the New Zealand Psychological Society says that, “If we want to improve the mental health of children then we must end poverty”

Clearly, some of the major underlying causes of suicide are poverty and inequality

If we want to make a serious difference in our appalling suicide rate, particularly among young people, we need a huge input into our mental health services, a clear policy from Government to reduce child poverty, and a major effort from Government to reduce inequality, Malcolm concludes.

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